Freemasonry - The largest secret society of all is freemasonry. More correctly called a society with secrets rather than a secret society, it is quite amazing how it can operate so openly, yet keep its secrets so well hidden, right down to the point of having masonic lodges in almost every town and city across the western world. For the men who congregate at our local masonic halls and organise charity events, it is clearly a convivial all male club, with the potential for making contacts and a bit of favouritism among initiates along the lines of “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. Belief in a supreme being is essential for initiates. That supreme being is referred to by masons as the “Great Architect of the Universe” and they will tell you that masonry involves a strict moral code of fellowship and good behaviour. The whole thing is based on rituals and ceremonies, which masons clearly love otherwise they wouldn’t get involved it. Add to that the feeling of being rather special because you have been let into some little esoteric secrets of the craft to which the rest of society (or the “profane” as non masons are referred to by initiates) are not party, and maybe it goes to your head a little! Almost none of them are likely to be above the 3 degrees of craft freemasonry known as entered apprentice, fellow craft and master mason. They are unlikely to have any real understanding of what is involved, and many will not even know that above the 3 degrees of craft freemasonry are a further 30 degrees of initiation, and they will certainly have no knowledge of the secrets and the objectives of the higher degrees. Only those at the very top (and this may be at levels beyond the 33rd. degree) know the full picture - implicit in what a friend of this writer, who is a freemason, told the writer: “at each degree they let you into another little secret…”

In Britain, craft freemasonry is run from the United Grand Lodge of England. It is to be found throughout the establishment, business and the professions, particularly in the civil service, the legal profession, police and the military. Its president is the Duke of Kent, which no doubt many would see as giving an image of respectability to the whole thing. (Royalty have long been associated with the craft, King George VI was an enthusiastic mason, although Charles and Andrew have not been initiated). Freemasonry defends itself by claiming an honourable moral code binding on initiates – certainly freemasons will go to considerable lengths to protect, defend and help their brother masons. However most men in the lowest three degrees are ordinary decent amiable citizens, but how many have ever stopped to think what they are invoking when they indulge in rituals involving daggers, nooses, coffins etc. and swearing oaths to keep the secrets of the craft, in the case of entered apprentice “under no less a penalty than that of having my throat cut, my tongue torn out by the root......or the more effective punishment of being branded as a wilfully perjured individual void of all moral worth......”Or in the case of fellow craft, a ritual death of “...of having my left breast laid open, my heart torn therefrom, and given to the ravenous birds, or devouring beasts of the field, as prey...”Or in the case of master mason“...being severed in two, my bowels burnt to ashes, and those ashes scattered over the face of the Earth and wafted by the four winds, that no trace of remembrance of so vile a wretch may be found among men....”(Since 1986, the words are no longer spoken by the initiate himself, but rather by the Worshipful Master - somewhat cosmetic perhaps!) [55]

Some people may think all this is harmless or just silly, but when we visit places, we can sometimes be struck by good feelings of peace and serenity that surround some places, yet other places can feel distinctly creepy, malevolent or hostile - in either case, it is related to the activities, good or bad as the case may be, that have taken place there. Martin Short in his book “Inside the Brotherhood”, describes the experiences of several people who felt, after visiting masonic temples, that they had encountered something that was extremely unpleasant and evil. Also documented are the experiences of several masons who came to feel the same way and who hurriedly left the craft. This writer and his wife took the opportunity of visiting their local masonic hall in the Welsh border town of Hay on Wye when it held an open day for the public, and both felt the atmosphere in the temple was distinctly unpleasant. This is perhaps not surprising because not by any stretch of the imagination, can the type of oaths and rituals above be said to conjure up feelings of love, compassion and benevolence. They are based on fear and, judging by how well the secrets are maintained, they have been very successful, even if the ritual deaths are not literally carried out.

Only those of “right mind” proceed beyond the three degrees of craft freemasonry to the higher “Royal Arch” levels, and only those at the very top levels will know what is behind the entire pyramid structure of freemasonry, those lower down do not. Is it some sort of devil worship for want of a better term... or some kind of invocation of the powers of evil? We all know that there are dedicated people on this earth who work tirelessly and selflessly for the good of humanity, and when we look at some of the terrible things that occur, we realise also that there must be those who do quite the opposite, though precisely who they are, what they do and how they do it, may be carefully concealed. Everyone perhaps can be open to the influences of good or evil, so we need to ask is the pyramid structure of freemasonry, and the unwitting involvement of ordinary men lower down in dubious oaths and rituals, being used by some very unpleasantly motivated people in high places, who understand the power of black magic and satanic rituals, to project malevolent energies throughout the network of our society, to help breed fear, exploitation and greed.

The origins of modern freemasonry are relatively recent. Its roots go back to the stonemasons of the middle ages who worked on our great cathedrals. They formed themselves into guilds to preserve and protect the skills of their trade - some of the masonic symbols of the apron, the square, the compass etc. are the leftovers of this. The old trade guilds fell apart after the reformation, with no further major building projects, so the guilds were thrown open to non masons. The rituals used today are largely the product of the freemasons of the late 17th. and 18th. centuries, although many of the actual esoteric secrets go back to ancient Egyptian times or earlier, and have been passed down through the mystery schools of Egypt, Babylon, ancient Greece, and then down through the middle ages by such orders as the Knights Templar, Cathars and Rosicrucians, and from there to modern freemasonry. In the face of mass persecution by the Christian church in the middle ages, these secret sects were vital in helping to preserve esoteric knowledge. Some say that the secrets, among other things, are concerned with the true origins of humanity, which may not be so entirely terrestrial and a product of evolution, as our present science would have us believe. We are moving now into the realms of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos and the possibility of contacts with earth in the past. Some say one of the secrets of the 33rd. degree is that they are in touch with intelligent life in the Sirius star system, although others dismiss this as absurd. Nevertheless, Sirius is the flaming star which appears in masonic temples.

So what knowledge might be being kept from humanity as a whole? The secrets may cover such matters as knowledge of the “life force” or “kundalini” which connects all humans to the earth and to the cosmos, often represented symbolically by the snake which ironically is incorporated in the symbol of the British Medical Association, even though the medical profession and conventional science deny this life force even exists. So too knowledge of the energy grid of the earth, sometimes known as ley lines, and how these connect with the collective consciousness of humanity. There is nothing wrong with the knowledge itself obviously – indeed it has been very important for it to be preserved especially against the background of dogmatic religions and Christianity which once sought to destroy the ancient knowledge and persecuted and killed anyone who attempted to pass it on. The danger here is people who have the knowledge, deny it to others and abuse it. This is what some people believe has happened with freemasonry - the knowledge borne by the ancient mystery schools has been taken over by those who wanted to use it for their own purposes of power and control. What was originally an honourable craft has been hijacked and perverted for sinister purposes, but only those at the very top of the pyramid of initiation are aware of what is going on and the true agenda. They know that the energy grid of the earth can just as easily be used to project negative and malevolent thoughts as positive and loving ones, and this is where dubious oaths and rituals come in, explaining the “bad vibes” some people have experienced in masonic temples.

Whilst ordinary masons of the lowest 3 degrees of craft freemasonry are forbidden to discuss politics in their lodges, at its highest levels freemasonry has strong political overtones. Note the masonic symbol of the pyramid mounted by the all seeing eye, the symbol of the structure of world freemasonry, to be found on the rear of the U.S. one dollar bill. Around it the Latin inscription - “Annuit Coeptis Novus Ordo Seclorum” - announcing the birth of the new ordinance of the ages or, to use contemporary terminology “new world order”, a phrase much associated with domination by a global elite and rather popular with George Bush Snr. Bush is one of a number of U.S. presidents thought to have reached the highest levels of masonic initiation, others include Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton. In his book “In God’s Name”, in which he investigated the murder of Pope John Paul 1, David Yallop illustrated how the top level masonic lodge P2, with members in South America and the Vatican as well as Italy, and powerful influences in the U.S.A. and elsewhere, was effectively running Italy. Despite the public exposures of the early ‘80’s, P2 still exists today. A shadowy politically based masonic organisation in the U.S.A., said to have some bizarre sexually orientated initiation ceremonies, is the Skull and Bones Society, based at Yale University where meetings are held in a windowless mausoleum known as “the Tomb”. Its membership is dominated by well known families of the “eastern establishment”, such as Bush, Rockefeller, Harriman, Whitney, Bundy, Vanderbilt. Bush Snr. is one of the best known present day initiates - he was apparently once accused by Pat Buchanan of running a “Skull and Bones” presidency. And like father like son…. President George W. Bush and his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush are both Skull and Bonesmen.

In the book “Princess Diana – the Hidden Evidence” the authors show how corporate interests and the intelligence services are also well represented in masonic secret societies. From what appear to be well placed sources they are able to say that old orders such as the Knights of Malta and the Priory of Sion have been effectively taken over by agencies such as MI6, who now guard their ancient secrets. One such secret appears to be the fact that, despite what Christianity would have us believe, Jesus married Mary Magdalen - they had a son and from him there is said to be a royal bloodline from which the Stuart monarchs of Scotland and later England can claim direct descent. This is highly significant when one appreciates that Princess Diana was of Stuart descent and that she too would almost certainly know all this. The present Stuart heir to the British throne is Prince Michael of Albany who resides out of the public eye in Edinburgh, but who is nevertheless the Scottish representative of a little known organisation called the European Council of Princes. The Windsors on the other hand are seen as usurpers, descended from the German house of Hanover, which was put in place in 1714 by powerful vested interests, who caused James II the last reigning Stuart monarch to flee in 1688. This was done for political gain and their non-intervention in British affairs and politics, was said to be the condition underpinning this arrangement – something that continues to this day. (By way of contrast Prince Michael’s views on the role of the monarch is that he/she should act as the guardian and protector of the rights of the people against the excesses of governments and those who control them.)

King and Beveridge refer to these events as the onset of masonic government, which included the setting up of privately owned central banks in Europe, and developed in corporate form especially from 1945 onwards with the creation of global mega corporations. “It is a plutocracy of the most brutal and insidious kind, in which corporate power decisively eclipses the authority of elected parliaments, and high ranking intelligence chiefs and deep cover intelligence operatives are on the boards of big companies in oil, science, technology, armaments, financial institutions, publishing and media…” This masonic structure is well illustrated in Britain today where we have an elected parliament which conducts its affairs in public. At the head of it is the government including the Cabinet, whose deliberations are not generally made public. Above that but less visible, are publicised summits such as the G8 the IMF etc. whose deliberations are strictly secret. Calling the shots are banks, big business and corporate think tanks. Then there are the little or unknown publicity shy private forums such as Bilderberg, the Tri-Lateral Commission and the European Round Table of Industrialists and finally the top levels of the secret society network which are almost completely hidden. And as if subtly to emphasise the point, we have a monarchy in which the rituals and pageantry of the Coronation and the state opening of parliament are very much masonic in nature.

THE STORY SO FAR….

What is touched upon so far could fill volumes. This resume tries to reveal the subtle, intricate webs of behind the scenes manipulation that make a nonsense of so-called democratic elections no matter where they are held. Real power does not lie with our elected representatives - we may elect them, but they then pursue the agenda of others – usually those who fund them. A golden rule of politics is that he that has the gold makes the rules! And the party whips are there to ensure that our elected representatives tow the party line – they have to if they are to get anywhere in politics. The whole “democratic” process is essentially a sham. Most conspiracy theorists tend to think in terms of one particular group as being behind every plot and hidden agenda – it’s the Freemasons, the Bilderbergers, the Communists, the Jews or whatever. Yet real life is never so simple. There are many self interested groups working well out of the public gaze – conspiracies galore and no doubt the agendas of many coincide. Some theorists refer to the Elite, the Olympians, the Brotherhood or the Illuminati as the source of a single conspiracy, yet they are hard pressed specifically to name anyone who is a member of these such groups or even that these groups exist at all in any formal sense. However as researcher Robin Ramsay in his guide entitled “Conspiracy Theories” (see foot note [3] ) points out - conspiracy is normal politics. Nevertheless he goes on to pour scorn on anyone and everyone who puts forward the idea that there is a single underlying mega conspiracy. So could there be one… ?

ZIONISM, &THE PROTOCOLS OF THE LEARNED ELDERS OF ZION

Towards the end of the 19th. century, a remarkable and disturbing document came to light. Originally in French, but subsequently appearing in Russian, Italian, Arabic, Japanese and ultimately in English around 1920, it can best be described as a blueprint for world domination by a secret brotherhood – the manifestation of Synarchy mentioned in the previous section. Known as the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, it claims to be have been written by the highest echelons of world Jewry, and is signed: “the representatives of Zion of the 33rd. degree.”

Despite widespread claims and beliefs to the contrary, this is not, repeat not, evidence of a plot on the part of the Jewish people as a whole. The title itself and the contents make that absolutely clear. Jews are not synonymous with Zionists - Zionism is a political movement which, although largely made up of Jews, is only actively supported by a minority of Jews and actually opposed by many Jews. It also has powerful and influential non Jewish supporters as well. It emerged publicly in Europe towards the end of the 19th century, at a time when nationalism generally was becoming a potent force throughout Europe. Central to it has been the creation of a racial and national identity for adherents of the Jewish faith, which previously hadn’t existed. Over the years diverse ranges of peoples have adopted the Jewish faith. There are those who are descended from the original Jews who inhabited Palestine or the old kingdom of Judea, as part of Palestine was once known 2000 or more years ago – though many would not admit it, these people of middle eastern stock are basically Arabs through a common ancestry with the Arabs. On the other hand about 90% of modern Jews have no ancestral links with ancient Judea. These are the so called Ashkenazim – European Jews, who are descended from the Khazars, a race of Turkish origin, who converted en masse to Judaism in the 8th century and subsequently settled in parts of Russia and northern Europe [56]. It is amongst this group of Jews that the core of the Zionist movement is to be found and who, today, form the ruling elite in Israel. Zionism’s appearance coincided with the emergence of the Protocols, suggesting there may be much more to it than merely the establishment and subsequent enlargement of a Jewish state as was the original publicly stated objective. Many Jews today are very much opposed to the continued expansionist aims of Zionism and it is very likely that today the majority, including many supporters of Zionism, know nothing of the Protocols. Since the first appearance of the Protocols, there have been vigorous claims that the document is “a forgery”. But if so, of what? It is generally claimed to be an attempt emanating from Russia falsely to accuse world Jewry of a plot to rule the world, as a means of promoting and justifying the persecution of Jews. It is quite understandable how this came about, because the Protocols were widely circulated and promoted in the 1920s and 30s in such a way as to create the impression of a massive conspiracy by world Jewry and that is how many people reacted to them. Indeed the covers of some published editions were emblazoned with the additional words “the Jewish Peril”. The document inevitably came to the attention of Hitler and the Nazis, and it was used by them as added justification for their persecution of the Jews, and was circulated on a massive scale in Germany at that time. Furthermore there was considerable spin off in the form of a number of fanatical, scurrilous and outrageous articles and publications directed against Jews as a whole. Some of these originated in pre revolutionary Russia whilst others appeared elsewhere in Europe. Some plagiarised parts of the Protocols themselves and falsely claimed to be of Jewish origin, as Professor Norman Cohn reveals in his book “Warrant for Genocide – the myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion” [57]. However, this extreme reaction has to be seen in the context of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, which sent massive shock waves across Europe, with fears that the whole of Europe might succumb to a Communist take-over. As it became known, as we will see later, that Jewish financial interests had largely funded the revolution and that many of the leading participants were Jews, one begins to see why some people reacted to the Protocols in the way that they did. Yet the truth of the matter is - and it is made abundantly clear in the document itself - this is NOT a plot by Jews as a whole as we will see later. However the danger signals are clear - the document may well be the work of a small Jewish elite, but it is the majority that can end up getting the blame and suffering the terrible consequences. It has happened once – it must never happen again.

Origins of the Protocols?

The Elders of Zion are thought in some circles to be the successors of the Pharisees who made up Great Sanhedrin – the highest Jewish authority around the time of Jesus, which continued to exist until at least the 15th century, moving from Jerusalem to Galilee following the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans around 70 AD and thereafter being based in Constantinople for 1000 years or more. Some suggest that they are the so called “Illuminati” said to be at the highest level of initiation in freemasonry. The reasoning behind the Protocols is based on the concept of the Jews being God’s chosen people. This belief is still held by many Jews today. For centuries, it has set the Jews apart, and sadly nothing has done more to cause conflict, suffering and persecution than this piece of misguided religious indoctrination that one group of people is somehow special, superior, chosen or favoured above everyone else. Human behaviour being what it is, when one group sets itself aside in this way, there’s a tendency for the rest to view them with suspicion, to dislike and mistrust them, to snipe at them and in the worst cases ultimately persecute and kill them. In reality, of course, everyone is of equal worth in the eyes of God/creation – call it what you will - but not, it seems as far as traditional Judaism is concerned!

The concept of “the chosen people” has its origins in the old testament of the bible, which also constitutes the Jewish bible or Tanach. This is the foundation of the Jewish “Torah” which is the axis around which the whole of Judaism revolves. “Torah” is also the name sometimes given to the first five books of the old testament which, in traditional Judaism, are considered to be a faithful and exact record of the word of God to the prophet Moses. However, for example, in the fifth book, Deuteronomy, this “god” of the Israelites (otherwise known as Yahweh) is portrayed as wrathful, tyrannical and demanding unquestioning obedience. The Israelites are told that they are a superior chosen race. In return for the “promised land”, they are ordered to destroy without mercy all other tribes living there. This is graphically set out in Deuteronomy chapters 7 and 20. They are told that carrying out these instructions will bring great material rewards, but failure to obey will entail terrible consequences (Chapter 28). Large sections of Deuteronomy are blatantly racist, blood thirsty and a license to plunder and pillage – yet this is still part of a so called holy book central to Judaism and Christianity as well. The promised land is described as stretching from the “western sea” (the Mediterranean) to the Euphrates river (present day Iraq) [58]. Some ultra orthodox Jews today, particularly in Israel, still take this seriously, and it certainly helps to explain why, since 1967, Palestinians in the Israeli occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza have had their land and property expropriated by the Israeli authorities, as Jewish settlements have continuously encroached and expanded into these areas. Indeed this concept of the promised land was the rationale behind the Zionist declaration in 1906 of intent to re-establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine after 1,900 years, which in turn led to mass Jewish emigration into Palestine and the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.

In the Protocols, the Jewish people other than this elite are referred to as “the lesser brethren”. Everyone else is referred to as “the Goyim”, a thoroughly derogatory term meaning cattle. The Goyim are seen as inferior, ignorant, stupid and totally unfit to govern and look after world affairs. They therefore need to be covertly controlled by intellectual superiors, whilst the lesser brethren are to be used unwittingly as part of the plan for global domination, and are considered expendable in attaining it. Those who insist that the Protocols are a faked document designed falsely to accuse world Jewry of a plot to dominate the world, fail to address the fact that the agenda of this document makes victims out of most Jews as much as anyone else. Those who promoted the Protocols in the 1920s and 30s seem to have been just as blind to this fact as well. What is also not addressed by the same people, is the possibility that the Protocols are the latest updated manifestation of the racist, supremacist themes in Deuteronomy mentioned above - themes which are repeated in many other parts of the old testament, and which can also be found in the Jewish Talmud. In particular Professor Cohn looks at none of these issues in his book “Warrant for Genocide” referred to above.

Turning to the Talmud, this means literally “the teaching”. It contains some 4500 pages compiled between the 3rd and 5th centuries with later additions in the 11th century and further commentaries added in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is basically an edited record of discussions and debates of leading rabbis of the time. It contains an extraordinarily detailed mass of laws, regulations, rituals and requirements governing every aspect and detail of Jewish life. It also includes many noble teachings, aspirations and ethical guidelines, which are clearly an important focus for most religious Jews today, and it is very important not to lose sight of this fact. However as Professor Israel Shahak reveals in his devastating critique “Jewish History, Jewish Religion – the weight of 3000 years”[59], the fact is that parts of the Talmud also develop and reinforce the highly destructive and racist themes found in parts of the old testament. These sections were clearly written by fanatics and are still followed by fanatics today. For example Gentiles (non Jews) are regarded as inferior and are despised and referred to in the most derogatory terms. They have been created to serve Jews and are equated with dogs. They are regarded as satanic creatures and liars, in which there is no good. Gentile women are equated with prostitutes. Gentiles are to be exploited and Jews should avoid any situation where Gentiles have authority over them. A remark by one of the rabbis of the extremist Gush Emunim (Block of the Faithful) movement in Israel, that “the life of a thousand Gentiles is not worth the toenail of a Jew” summarises the attitude of hatred and scorn directed at non Jews that is to be found in parts of the Talmud [60]. These attitudes are also reflected in parts of the Halakhah, which was the legal system of classical Judaism from the 9th to the 18th centuries, adopted by the tightly knit Jewish communities in Europe at that time, and which survives today in some quarters of ultra orthodox Judaism. Under this legal code for example it is a capital offence to murder a Jew punishable in a court of law, but the murder of a Gentile requires no punishment and is left to God’s judgement [61].. It was because of sentiments like these and also highly derogatory remarks about Christianity and Jesus, that the Talmud was banned and destroyed in parts of Europe during the middle ages. These sentiments also must have fuelled the demonisation and persecution of Jews by many Christians in mediaeval Europe - the belief that Jews were devil worshippers, demons in human form, and took part in ritual child sacrifices. The Talmud subsequently reappeared with the offensive sections toned down or removed altogether and it is these much more moderate versions that are in general use and circulation today [62]. Nevertheless the racist supremacist sections have never disappeared altogether – they have reappeared in more recent years generally amongst the ultra orthodox communities of Hassidic Jews (pious ones) in parts of the USA, particularly New York, and especially in Israel itself, where fanatics have felt safe within the security provided by the Jewish state, to publish and circulate these ideas. Often what is really being promoted is concealed by translations and commentaries into English from the original Hebrew, which hide the true nature of the Hebrew texts, so that outsiders with no knowledge of Hebrew do not understand what is actually being said and taught [63]. This is further illustrated by the fact that amongst this Jewish theology can be found references to the redemption of the individual soul and of the Jewish people which will be achieved with the arrival of the “Messiah” once Jews govern the entire world… (my emphasis) [64]. Add this to what appears in the book of Exodus, the second book of the old testament Chapter 23, verse 22 where “god” promises to his chosen people “If thou shalt indeed do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come…” - then it becomes ever more clear that there may indeed be some fanatical Jewish elite hell bent on some kind of global domination, and the Protocols are the latest in a line of edicts and declarations to that effect.